


the science of being dead

by leovaldez



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Crush, Canon Compliant, M/M, hand hol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:53:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29395800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: there is no science to being dead, but leo has a theory or two when it jason comes to jason being back
Relationships: Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	the science of being dead

**Author's Note:**

> obsessed with all their possible dynamics, it's so fun to switch it up every so often lmaooo... this doesn't even make sense but it's fun

“I missed you,” is what Leo first says when he and Jason meet again. Jason smiles at him, and says, “I didn’t go anywhere.”

Leo doesn’t like being laughed at, so he scowls and shoves the other boy away while saying, “Shut up. You literally died.”

“So did you,” Jason points out.

“That’s different,” Leo tells him. Jason tells him it’s not that different, because death is death. Leo knows that, he’s not stupid, but he was stupid to think that his death wouldn’t have affected his friends the way it did. Rather than confront this fact, he shoves it to the back of his brain labeled LEO, DO NOT TOUCH. Leo folds his arms over his Camp Half-Blood shirt. “Why did you take so long to see me?”

Jason looks confused. “You were the first one I saw.”

“And Di Angelo?”

“He’s why I’m here, so that doesn’t count,” Jason explains, “but you’re the first person I wanted to see.”

Leo feels excited by that notion, because it’s not often he’s the first person _anyone_ wants to see. “Why?”

“I thought you were the smart one,” Jason jokes. He grins at Leo, elbowing him. “Duh. I missed you too.”

“Oh, right,” Leo looks at the sky, the trees, the ground, the campers, anywhere but Jason, “Duh. Silly me.”

“Well now that I’m here,” Jason looks past Leo at the rest of the camp. “What do you want to do?”

Leo doesn’t want to do anything but soak up the presence of his once-dead friend. It’s selfish of him, but Leo hasn’t seen Jason in what seems like forever, and he _really_ does miss Jason. He doesn’t miss the nervous energy that seems to expand in his chest like a hot air ballon tho, the rapid beats of his heart fueling the fire. But Leo does miss Jason. 

“There’s swimming,” Leo says. “My cabin is changing to head for the lake right now if you want to hop along.”

“I’d love to,” Jason says. Leo steps away in the direction of his cabin, but Jason grabs his hand. Jumping, Leo’s brows furrow at the other guy. 

“You’re touching me.”

“I haven’t touched something in a while,” Jason says, rather cheekily. “I don’t want to get lost.”

“How could you get lost— we’re three cabins away,” Leo points, and Jason nods but doesn’t let go. For some reason, Leo is ready to propose a new scientific theory about death titled **CASE 01: JASON’S DEATH = MISSING SCREWS?** but Leo’s sure that most people would not think that way about their best friend, so he drops the idea quickly. Leo instead chooses to focus on if his hand is getting sweaty and perhaps maybe the temperature at Camp Half Blood has increased in the past couple of milliseconds.

“I haven’t touched someone in a while,” Jason says again, like Leo didn’t hear him the first time. “I can let go if you want.”

“Yes, please do, Grabby Hands”

Jason does, and Leo is embarrassed as to how small the gap in time between him uneasily hopping from foot to foot and snatching Jason’s hand back was. Jason starts to laugh but cuts himself off when Leo glares at him. 

“It’s research,” Leo tells him.

“Wha-”

“Only two previously dead people can do it,” Leo snaps. “Shut up, I’m a scientist, I know what I’m doing.”

Jason gives him the typical _You-Are-Weird-But-I-Support-You_ look that he used to give when he was alive. Leo almost falls to his knees and decides that must be some dead-person power that Jason might’ve gotten. He rethinks his earlier decision of retracting that theory about missing screws, and replacing it with **JASON'S DEATH = EVOLUTION?**

Jason’s thumb absentmindedly rubs Leo’s knuckle, and Leo almost begins jetting off to his cabin because 1, he can _not_ deal with Jason right now, and 2, he would like to figure out a new theory: **CASE 02: JASON BEING ALIVE IS A GOOD THING AND I LIKE IT VERY MUCH BECAUSE I MISS HIM.**

Leo tells him this, and Jason laughs and says, “I _really_ missed you too.”

Duh. Leo knows this. He smiles to himself and makes a mental note that it’s unethical to have a personal relationship to his subject, so Leo quickly closes that mental case and comes up with a new one in his head oriented around himself: **CASE 03: I AM HAPPY HE IS BACK**. Not the best scientific theory Leo could propose, but who cares— Jason’s back (Case 03 is proven true here!), and that defies all laws of science in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> have a good day, feel free to talk to me down below or at my tumblr @milfhera!!! <333


End file.
